Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Is Null being vanished (banished?) gradually...


The following bit of news was posted on Nalini's listserv by Steve Brown yesterday, March 1. It is laced with information—old and new—regarding Gary Null's status at WBAI. It also hints at an internal conspiracy involving the JUC faction.

Berthold Reimers just announced that he was cancelling Gary Null’s Friday WBAI program permanently. This looks like the first step in a calculated removal of Gary Null from WBAI airwaves. Next he will probably cancel Thursday, then Wednesday, and so on. That is how Gary was removed from WPFW’s airwaves several years ago, after 34 years of continuous broadcasting. Under pressure from the NY JUC, WPFW first took away one day, then another, then another – all with no explanation -- until Gary finally quit. 
That caused his WPFW audience, which comprised more than half of its listeners, to desert WPFW. Prior to that, the station had never failed to make its fund drive goals; after that, it never succeeded in making even a single fund drive goal, and is now in even worse financial shape than WBAI.
Taking away one of Gary’s program days on WBAI is clearly meant as retaliation for Gary’s objection to Berthold’s violations of the FTC Mail Order Rule (exposing Pacifica to millions of dollars in fines) and his illegal pirating of Gary’s DVDs and those of other vendors (also making the station vulnerable to huge fines, as well as making Berthold liable to a prison term of up to 5 years if convicted).
Just from the standpoint of fiscal responsibility – whether you like Gary’s program or not -- this seems amazingly harmful to the station, since Gary Null has the largest audience on WBAI, and had been raising up to 75% of WBAI’s fund drive revenue for years, by pitching his books and videos, until Berthold forced him to stop. So look to even bigger shortfalls in WBAI revenue, which means bigger shortfalls for Pacifica.
However, Berthold is apparently not interested in the welfare of WBAI or of Pacifica -- but only in keeping his job. Which I am guessing means colluding with the JUC national board majority in getting rid of Gary Null, since his lawsuit could put some of them in jail. (Berthold would not do this on his own.) 
I would hope that the LSB majority will register a strong protest to Berthold. I would also hope that the LSB will simultaneously resubmit Berthold’s termination request to the ED and national Board. It may not get anywhere, but it will create a record and should be done.
Stephen M. Brown

27 comments:

  1. Reminds me of when Mr. White did the same to Null some years at WBAI ago. As with WPFW we were 'never' in the "Black",...so to speak, again.

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  2. I finally agree with something Berthold Reimers has done. Bertie: Keep it up. Drive that peevish quack off the air.

    KGT

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  3. While the internal drama continues at WBAI, Pacifica in Exile posted audio showing KPFA members are making the case to strip stations of voting rights at the PNB if they don't make central services payments and accusing WBAI and the other stations of eyeing their fund drive money to 'subsidize their standard of living'. They're trying to get the PNB to act but if not then they argue for voluntary bankruptcy in CA where they think they can get a sympathetic hearing.

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  4. The simple truth is that WBAI chose this path long ago. It’s what WBAI, in the fullness of time, became. It wasn’t imposed from California, though California has been happily taking advantage of WBAI’s wretched and meandering death for quite some time, thinking itself terribly clever, Machiavellian, and ‘political’.

    So be it.

    ~ ‘indigopirate’

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  5. If we look at the past couple of years worth of WBAI beg-a-thon totals, we see that the recent couple without Null aren't that far short of the others. Not having Null's premiums has had a small effect but not a major one. Hence, I say, fire him and stop playing games. He isn't worth the potential trouble.

    Null was all fine and dandy for a decade with WBAI allegedly pirating his material, but sues them and cries piracy when he gets taken out of the beg-a-thon system. I think that tells us a lot about him. You know, how many of those premium were "donated" by him to WBAI? Yeah, right.

    While I think Null is a total fraud in every way, I have to admit that I will be afraid to see what replaces him.

    SDL

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    1. Yes, the Null trip has run its course, and you are right to surmise that the replacement will be worse. We have already seen Reimers make a few disastrous program changes... The Haitian All-Starz, Daulton Anderson's Sunday noise and the Reverend Billy come to mind as I brace myself for the exceedingly unfunny Randy Credico. We have also heard the return of White and Bates and, apropos scammers, the escalation of Kathy Davis, who still hasn't managed to levitate.

      WBAI is a house of frauds, liars and cheats.

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    2. Add Forlano and Halper to the list...

      SDL

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    3. Yes, along with.... not to mention....

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    4. The Blacks?

      SDL

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    5. But of course, how could I have overlooked that dynamic duo?

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    6. Easily...

      SDL

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    7. Obviously! And allow me to throw in the doctrinaire drivel of Ron Daniels...

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  6. withoutgary nulls creative mind WBAI is on its way to being a has been

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    1. With Gary Null, WBAI became a has-been many moons ago. With or without him, it will cease to exist soon—probably this year.

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    2. Don't worry. If WBAI loses Gary Null, we should all be grateful for still having Dr. Majid Ali.

      KGT

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    3. There may be a big difference. If I am correct, Dr Ali is an actual medical doctor and, maybe, surgeon. If so, he has a hell of a lot more validity than Null.

      SDL

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  7. dear Berthold R I am Marilyn Lane the true holder of the email marilynhelyn@optonline.net and my identity is being used by my brothers girlfriend a DSS Tokey Rose who has already stolen my ATT phone 954 CELL PHONE snd is trying to steal my trust and my brother is unhelpful because he does not like WBAI s politics I cAn SAFELY reached reached at PO 1155Bethpage ny 11714

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    1. Your e-mail is misdirected. It should probably be addressed to Mr. Reimers at the station, if at all.

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  8. Dear Berthold with investigation you will find many of the negative comments against Null is written by DSS the company that wants to tske over WBAI

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    1. I have no idea of what you are talking about. What is DSS? That said, E-mail to Berthold Reimers should be addressed to him at the station (WBAI.org).

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  9. What does Mumbles have on tap for tonight?

    KGT

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    1. Nap time, so-so country music, tired recitals of call letters, and strenuously unorthodox noises, I suppose. That's admittedly only an educated guess.

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  10. WBAI is really digging for new premiums now. Yesterday we had a how to write a book seminar. Today we have a Meditations for Well Being one. When are they finally going to have the Sex Toys Collection premium? Hey, don't laugh! Sex toys are far more useful than any of the other trash they hawk.

    SDL

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    1. I loved the how to write a book. Yes, they are experimenting, but also repeating a lot of very tired crap.... I heard the original Gwen Scott infomercial earlier. GAME OVER!

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    2. “Hi, folks. This is Tony “Casanova” Bates here with Kathy “Cake” Davis for a great new offer – The Peoples’ Sex Toy Collection! Ever feel all wound up after a day at a Black Lives Matter demonstration? Well, this collection is just the thing to calm you down!”

      “Oh, Tony, this is a mind expanding and spiritually enhancing collection of items the likes of which I have never seen before…”

      “That’s right, folks. And we had Kathy try out this unique collection on herself last night while she was stuffing herself full of cake and milkshakes. What did you think of it, Kathy?”

      “Tony, that replica Mumbles Jabu Jabal replica dildo was so big that I orgasmed so intensely that I thought I was going to transport to the astral plane…”

      “See, even (beep beep beep) What? (beep beep beep) They – THEY – are trying to stop us from getting this information across to the listening public! See how THEY try to censor us? Well, it won’t work and they won’t stop the orgasms!”

      Sorry, couldn't help myself...

      SDL

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    3. I can hear it, SDL, but something is missing....

      To Kathy, everything is "powerful"... she uses that word more often than Hopeless Haskins brings up slavery.

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    4. "Oh, and, Tony! The electric Marcus Garvey Vibrator is the most powerful thing I ever used on myself. I am thinking of attaching a Brillo pad to it so I can also use it as a toothbrush!"

      "See, how happy she is? Now let's look at the other items in here. We have a tube of Bertold Reimers Magical Numbers Lube, the Hay-tie Haskins Over-sized Buttplug and the Robert Knight Memorial Ball Gag..."

      SDL

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